Structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities

ABSTRACT

A structure of connected wood post is introduced for using outdoor facilities. The wood posts is comprised of: a lower post made of square or round hard wood and firmly installed in the ground; an upper post made of square or round soft wood and coupled with a dowel and socket to the lower post, respectively; a fastening band made of metal or synthetic resin and formed in a square or round shape, the band being fastened to the recessed area of the lower post so as to firmly connect the lower post to the upper post, respectively; an upper post protection cap made of metal or synthetic resin and securely fit around the upper end or top portion of the upper post; and a lower post protection cap made of metal or synthetic resin and securely fit around the lower end of the lower post.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities, and more particularly, to a general wood post and a hardwood post with a rod-and-socket connecting the two posts co-linearly, and a recessed area at the upper end of the lower post for mounting a metal band.

2. Background of the Related Art

As houses and cities become environmentally friendly, many green parks are built near residential areas and the centers of cities. Furthermore, outdoor facilities where people rest such as shelters, pleasure resorts, and so on, are increasingly installed in the parks or cities.

Most of the main posts of outdoor facilities such as shelters and pleasure resorts are made of a steel or wood material, and about five to ten years after installation the portion in connection with the ground is seriously corroded, which causes undesirable accidents and greatly ruins the outward appearance.

Therefore, the entire outdoor facilities are all removed and newly re-installed, which causes much economic loss. If they are decayed, their safety and durability are deteriorated. Further, as the outer facilities are made of generally soft wood like red pine and yellow pine, the portion of the wood connected with a rope or pipe may be parted or loose, negatively influencing safety and outward appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an objective of the present invention to provide a structure of connecting wood posts for outdoor facilities wherein a soft-wood post and a hard-wood post are connected co-linearly to each other, having a coupling dowel-and-socket in the connected portion, and a recessed area around the upper end of the lower post to allow a metal fastening band to be mounted. The metal band prevents the connected wood posts from being deformed by the elasticity of the wood, increasing the durability and contacting force with the wood posts to improve the coupling force and preventing the portion of the hard wood post connected with the ground from decaying.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide protection caps on the upper portion of the soft-wood post and on the lower portion of the hard-wood post respectively, thereby preventing the connected wood posts from being damaged by cracks on their edges and outer surfaces.

To accomplish the above objectives, according to the present invention there is provided a structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities which includes a lower post, made of square or round hard-wood, permanently installed in the ground. It has a socket formed vertically and penetrating the center of the top surface and a recessed area completely around the upper end. An upper post, made of square or round soft-wood, has a dowel extending from the bottom surface to be inserted into the socket of the lower post. A fastening band made of metal or synthetic resin material and formed in a square or round shape is fastened into the recessed area of the lower post so as to firmly couple the lower post and the upper post. An upper-post protection cap made of metal or synthetic resin material securely fits over the upper end of the post; and a lower-post protection cap made of a metal or synthetic resin material securely fits over the lower end of the post.

According to the present invention, specifically, the recessed area of the lower post has a first hole that penetrates it horizontally all the way through, and passes through the diameter of the socket. The dowel protrusion of the upper post has a second hole that penetrates it horizontally, so as to mate with the hole of the lower post. A pin is provided, which will be passed through the holes in the lower post and in the upper post dowel, locking them together.

According to the present invention, specifically where the lower post and the upper post are square, the fastening band includes: a

-like body having a fastening plate bent inward vertically at both ends of it; a number of bolt holes formed in each of the fastening plates, a number of semi-spherical ribs evenly spaced across each side of it, and a third hole for the pin to pass through. A rectangular coupling plate has a second set of bolt holes on both ends which match with the fastening plates of the

-like body, a number of semi-spherical ribs evenly spaced across the width of it, and a hole for the pin to pass through.

According to the present invention, preferably, in the case where the lower post and the upper post are round, the fastening band includes: a semi-circular first body having a number of bolt holes in both ends; a number of semi-spherical ribs evenly spaced across the width of it; a hole adapted to pass the pin through; and a second semi-circular body adapted to be coupled with the first body to complete the round shape when coupled, the second body having a number of bolt holes formed on both ends a number of semi-spherical ribs evenly spaced across the width of it, and a fourth hole for the pin to pass through.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities according to a first example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connected wood posts in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of connecting wood posts for outdoor facilities according to a second example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the connected wood posts in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of FIGS. 2 and 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Here an explanation of a structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities according to the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

A detailed explanation on the known functions and configurations related to this invention will be avoided for brevity. The terms mentioned below are defined by the functions of this invention, which are of course varied in accordance with the intention or rules of a user or operator. Therefore, the definition of the terms should be based upon the contents of the description of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, there is provided a structure ‘100’ of connecting wood posts for outdoor facilities according to the present invention. including a lower post ‘110’, an upper post ‘120’, a fastening band ‘130’, an upper post protection cap ‘140’, a lower post protection cap ‘150’ and a pin ‘160’.

First, the lower post ‘110’, made of square or round hard-wood, is permanently installed in the ground, and has a socket ‘111’ formed vertically, penetrating at the center of the top surface and a recessed area ‘113’ formed around the upper end. The recess ‘113’ of the lower post ‘110’ has a hole ‘115’ penetrating horizontally and passing through the diameter of the socket.

Further, the upper post ‘120’ is made of square or round soft-wood and has a coupling dowel ‘121’ formed at the center of the bottom surface to mate to the socket ‘111’ of the lower post ‘110’ The dowel ‘121’ of the upper post ‘120’ has a hole ‘123’ penetrating its diameter, to correspond to the hole ‘115’ of the lower post ‘110’.

The fastening band ‘130’ is made of metal or synthetic resin material and is fastened to the recess ‘113’ of the lower post ‘110’ so as to firmly couple the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’ together.

If the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’ are square, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fastening band ‘130’ includes: a

-like body ‘131’ having a fastening plate ‘131-2’ bent inward vertically at both ends, a number of bolt holes ‘131-1’ formed on each of the fastening plates ‘131-2’, and a number of semi-spherical ribs ‘131-3’ evenly spaced across the width of it to buffer the contraction/expansion of the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’. A third hole ‘131-4’, provided to pass the pin ‘160’, will be discussed later. A rectangular coupling plate ‘133’ has a number of bolt holes ‘133-1’ on both ends to match with the fastening plates ‘131-2’ of the body ‘131’, a number of semi-spherical ribs ‘133-2’ evenly spaced across the width of it (to buffer the contraction/expansion of the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’), and a fourth hole ‘133-3’ to pass the pin ‘160’ through.

If the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post, ‘120’, are round, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fastening band ‘130’ includes a semi-circular first body ‘135’ having a number of bolt holes ‘135-1’ on both ends, a number of semi-spherical ribs ‘135-2’ evenly spaced across the width of it to buffer the contraction/expansion of the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’, and a hole ‘135-3’ provided to pass the pin ‘160’ through. A semi-circular second body ‘137’ is adapted to be coupled with the first body ‘135’ to complete the round shape. The second body ‘137’ has a number of bolt holes ‘137-1’ on both ends, a number of semi-spherical ribs ‘137-2’ evenly spaced across the width of it, (to buffer the contraction/expansion of the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’), and a hole ‘137-3’ to pass the pin ‘160’ through.

The upper post protection cap ‘140’ is made of metal or synthetic resin material and is securely fit around the upper end of the upper post ‘120’. The upper post protection cap ‘140’ is desirably a press fitting, or it may be fastened by means of separate bolts.

The lower post protection cap ‘150’ is made of metal or synthetic resin material and is securely fit around the lower end edge of the lower post ‘110’. The lower post protection cap ‘150’ is desirably a press fitting, or it may be fastened by means of separate bolts.

The pin ‘160’ is designed to be passed through the hole ‘115’ of the lower post ‘110’ and the hole ‘123’ of the upper post ‘120’ in such a manner as to protrude through hole ‘131-4’ or ‘135-3’ and hole ‘133-3’ or ‘137-3’ of the fastening band ‘130’, so that the lower post ‘110’ and the upper post ‘120’ form the structure in cooperation with other posts.

An explanation on the installation process and operation of the structure of connecting the wood posts for outdoor facilities according to the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

First, the lower post protection cap ‘150’ is fitted to the lower portion of the lower post ‘110’ and the post is then firmly inserted into an excavated hole in the ground.

Next, the coupling dowel ‘121’ of the upper post ‘120’ is inserted into the socket ‘111’ of the lower post ‘110’, and the fastening band ‘130’ is fastened into the recess ‘113’ on the lower post ‘110’.

In the same manner as mentioned above, other post assemblies are installed and connected so as to create all kinds of construction projects.

According to the present invention, therefore, the structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities can remove the disadvantages soft wood has, by preventing accidents from happening, preventing the outer appearance of the structure from being deteriorated by decay and damage of the wood, providing more attractive appearances to give much pleasure and clean surrounding environments to people, and increasing the durable usage period by five times or more when compared with existing products, which gives excellent resource saving effects and many economic advantages.

As set forth in the foregoing, according to the present invention, there is provided a structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities wherein a soft wood post and a hard wood post having a dowel-and-socket connection are connected co-linearly and a recess is formed around the upper end of the lower post so as to have a metal fastening band installed, thereby preventing the connection of the posts from being deformed by the elasticity of the wood, increasing durability and contacting force with the wood posts to improve the coupling force, and preventing the connected portion of the hard wood post, disposed at the lower portion of the structure, from being decayed by contact with the ground. A protection cap is provided on the upper portion of the soft wood post and on the lower portion of the hard wood post, respectively, preventing the posts from being damaged by the cracks on edges and outer surfaces.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. 

1. A structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities, the structure comprising: a lower post made of square or round hard wood and firmly installed in the ground, the lower post having a socket formed vertically penetrating at the center of the top surface thereof and a recessed area around the upper end, an upper post made of square or round soft wood and having a coupling dowel formed at the center of the bottom surface so as to be inserted into the coupling socket of the lower post, a fastening band made of metal or synthetic resin and formed in a square or round shape, the band being fastened to the recessed area of the lower post so as to firmly couple the lower post and the upper post, an upper post protection cap made of metal or synthetic resin and securely fit around the upper end of the upper post, and a lower post protection cap made of metal or synthetic resin and securely fit around the lower end of the lower post.
 2. The structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities according to claim 1, wherein the lower post has a first hole formed horizontally penetrating from side to side, and the coupling dowel of the upper post has a second hole formed horizontally and penetrating in such a manner as to correspond to the first hole of the lower post, a pin is provided to be passed through the first hole in the lower post and the second hole in the upper post dowel.
 3. The structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities according to claim 2, wherein the lower post and the upper post are square, the fastening band comprising: a

-like body having a fastening plate bent inward vertically at both ends, a plurality of bolt holes on each of the fastening plates, a plurality of semi-spherical ribs equally spaced across each side, and a third hole designed to pass the pin there through, and a rectangular fastening plate having a plurality of second bolt holes formed on both ends so as to match with the fastening plates of the body, a plurality of semi-spherical ribs equally spaced across the side, and a fourth hole designed to pass the rope there through.
 4. The structure of connected wood posts for outdoor facilities according to claim 2, wherein the lower post and the upper post are round, the fastening band comprising: a semi-circular first body having a number of first bolt holes formed on both ends, a number of semi-spherical first ribs equally spaced across the side, and a third hole designed to pass the pin through it, and a second semi-circular body designed to be mated with the first body to complete the circle, the second body having a number of second bolt holes formed on both ends, a number of semi-spherical second ribs equally spaced across the side, and a fourth hole designed to pass the pin through it. 